When Michelle Gravelle said to her partner, “I can win this contest,” it wasn’t a case of wishful thinking.

The postgraduate student thought she had a chance to win the $50,000 KraftMaid kitchen makeover because it wasn’t a random draw — first you had to create an entry, write a blurb and then enlist your friends to vote online for you entry.

“So at least there was an appearance of having control over the outcome.”

Friends and family really got into following the weekly voting results online, says Gravelle, but being neck and neck with another entry was a nail biter, until her entry surged ahead at the last minute.

Gravelle and her partner were more than ready to win — their own kitchen was in a desperate state. Had they not won the contest, the kitchen they had in mind would have been half the size, “pieced together from the best deals to fit a modest budget, and completed over a much longer period of time.”

Because they were already looking for a kitchen, Gravelle had researched the project thoroughly. But there was a six month wait to finalize the cabinets, which allowed her to look some more — this time knowing she had $50,000 for the cabinetry and appliances.

She devoured design magazines and websites, polled coworkers about their kitchen ideas, and checked out KraftMaid’s semi-custom cabinetry with its 150 door styles, over 70 furniture quality finishes, and endless supply of storage solutions.

Ultimately they selected what Gravelle calls “a restrained style in a finish chosen to make the space light and airy. We weren’t into a typical wood finish as we have a lot of stained wood in the rest of the house. The veneer was a sophisticated option that was neutral enough to work with a number of colour palettes.”

They also wanted something easy to clean and maintain — any extra detail, even a raised panel, would mean more cleaning.

Thanks to a generous $50,000 budget for cabinetry and appliances, Gravelle and her partner were able to spend their original budget on a 10-foot addition to the back of their house. They then came up with a layout using Google sketch, took it to Home Depot, where they got the KraftMaid cabinetry, and had the designer fine-tune the plan.

The homeowner’s wish list included enough prepping space for one to work on dinner while the other could work on some baked goods or prepare lunches for work next day. They wanted enough storage that nothing would be left on the countertops. And because Gravelle’s partner is tall, they needed more space between the upper cabinets and the countertop, “just so he wouldn’t have his face buried in cupboards while working.”

Theresa Junkunc, KraftMaid’s brand director, says that

“A lack of built-in storage is a common homeowner regret after building or remodeling,” says Theresa Junkunc, KraftMaid’s brand director. “In fact, our research tells us that 82 per cent of homeowners wish they had more storage in their kitchens.”

The best way to approach kitchen organization and storage is to “first understand how you plan to use the space,” Junkunc says.

“There are no hard and fast rules, but a well-planned layout and cabinetry will make life easier and more enjoyable in the finished space.”

When designing a kitchen layout, consider the work triangle — that path that you make when moving between appliances, the sink and work spaces when preparing a meal, she says. Even if you’re not making significant structural changes to the kitchen, you can still enhance the layout with the right cabinetry to make the work triangle more efficient.

With the addition, it’s now an eat-in kitchen, which works well for entertaining since their friends are mostly into cooking with them, “and the cooking becomes part of the evening.”

The designer also made suggestions for materials. When selecting cabinetry, it’s important to consider quality and craftsmanship, says Junkunc. “Cabinetry isn’t just a purchase; it’s an investment.”

Junkunc believes cabinetry should last a lifetime, not just a set number of years, which is why KraftMaid backs its cabinetry with a Limited Lifetime Warranty. With home design trends changing yearly, there may be a desire to change the cabinetry but she recommends selecting a door style and finish that will stand the test of time and consider long-term plans for the space.

Gravelle agrees: “Being a working kitchen that makes three meals a day, processes a vegetable garden and will be used for canning come harvest time, it was important to have something that could take wear and tear. And now that we have the kitchen I can appreciate the quality construction.”

KraftMaid Factoids

• KraftMaid’s cabinet doors and drawer fronts are made of solid wood available in five species — cherry, maple, oak, hickory and birch.

• The drawer boxes are solid wood with dovetail construction. Inside the cabinets, KraftMaid offers an easy-to-clean natural birch Viraguard (laminate) interior which can be upgraded to include a matching Viraguard interior or matching wood veneer interior.

• Medium-density fibreboard (MDF) is used on the white and soft cream thermofoil doors. The thermofoil material is applied to the MDF using an intense and pressure-bonding process to ensure durability and a smooth finish. Medium-density fibreboard (MDF) is an engineered wood offering an extremely tight and smooth surface and is favoured for laminating cabinetry with thermofoils and melamine.

• To fully realize the beauty and variation that comes with cherry, hickory, maple and oak, choosing real wood would be the best option.

• The Home Depot in the U.S. has sold KraftMaid for over 20 years and THD Canada has sold KraftMaid since 2006. KraftMaid is also available at Lowe’s and through more than 3,500 authorized kitchen and bath dealers. Consumers can find a local dealer by visiting KraftMaid.com.

Winning a contest

Michelle Gravelle’s entry stood out because she made the connection between family, nature and the home — all of which are very important to her. For Gravelle, the kitchen is the centre of her home and a place to gather, make memories and share good food.

She said her dream kitchen would reflect nature and embrace the tones and textures found outside her door. All of these things came together in the inspiration board she submitted as part of her contest entry.

The judges and the design enthusiasts who voted for her entry appreciated the reflection of her personal style. It’s what the “Define Your Style” contest was all about and it’s fun to now see the elements of her entry come to life in her finished kitchen.

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